Will's Special Mission
by overdieksh
Summary: Will Treaty has two roles: being a Ranger, and being a husband. When fate steps in, he finds himself struggling to choose between the two. Can Will find a way to succeed in both roles and keep everyone happy, or must he choose?
1. The Mission

Will rolled over in bed and looked at the still figure next to him. He still couldn't believe his luck. How was he lucky enough to marry this beautiful woman? Her long blonde hair was sprawled out on the pillow beside her. Her expression was as calm as it ever had been. She always kept her emotions in control, seemingly so much easier than he ever could. Alyss was so perfect. He had to find a way to make this day special for her.

Slowly, he eased himself up out of bed, careful not to wake his wife. Silently, Will pulled on his soft-soled, brown leather boots and stood up. He ghosted across the bedroom into the main room of the cabin. The bouquet of flowers that he picked late last night after Alyss had gone to sleep sat in their vase in the center of the table. In front of the vase lay an envelope with Alyss's name carefully inscribed on the outside. She wouldn't be happy when she found out that he had left on a mission with Halt.

At the door, Will made sure to pull it open with extreme care. At one point he always kept the door hinges oiled so as to avoid squeaking. Unfortunately, it was only after having his cabin broken into that Will found the importance of letting the hinges be squeaky so as to be warned of any potential intruders. For anyone else, opening the door silently would be extremely tricky, but for a Ranger, moving things silently was a piece of cake.

Once safely outside, Will crept toward the small stable where Tug nickered to him softly.

 _You know she is going to be furious at you for leaving, on today of all days._

"Nonsense," replied Will. "She will only be slightly upset and I will be making it up to her in the end. Even she can't be too mad at me when the King sends for me."

 _Keep telling yourself that,_ Tug snorted.

Not for the first time, and surely not the last, Will wondered if he would ever have the last word with his horse.

 _You never will._

Will rolled his eyes as he saddled Tug. They had more important things to do then fight about this right now. Halt was surely waiting for him by now.

In Castle Redmont, Halt was indeed trying to leave to meet Will but was finding it much more difficult to escape the astute senses of his wife. Having left his copy of the note on the table for Lady Pauline to find, Halt was almost out the door when his senses picked up movement behind him. Whirling around, he found Pauline holding up the note with a questioning look on her face.

"Don't tell me that you are actually leaving on a mission with Will today."

"I'm not."

"Then why does this note say that you are."

"Because…," But he had nothing to say. The questioning look had turned to an accusing glare. As much as he loved his wife, he feared her glares. Looking towards the door, Halt calculated whether or not he could get away from that glare. Pauline was no Ranger, but as a courier she was just as good as a Ranger in most things. He had no doubt that she would follow him and confront him once again. There seemed to be no way to sneak out of this.

Will sat atop Tug, his body so tense that even Tug was starting to get anxious. Halt was never this late. As a Ranger, Will was trained to keep his body still in even the tensest of moments, but his eyes were always constantly scanning, looking for any possible sign of someone approaching. His thoughts raced as he considered why Halt must be late. Halt was possibly the best Ranger Will had ever known. If he ran into trouble then he was more than capable of taking care of himself. But if it was an ambush then it could be different. Halt wasn't as young as he pretended to be. Yet, his skills were so good that it would be hard to ambush him. So maybe it was something else. Tug's snort interrupted his thoughts.

 _Stop worrying so much. I'm sure there is an excellent reason that may have even been more important than you and this mission._

"Yes. But still. I need him on this mission. I'm not sure I can do it by myself," Will trailed off. Tug's sense had picked up someone approaching and he had whinnied in a friendly greeting. Relaxing, Will knew it must be Abelard, Halt's horse, otherwise Tug would have given a low warning sound for Will to prepare to meet a stranger.

As Halt and Abelard came into view, Will had Tug trot over to greet them.

"Your late," said Will.

"Well I had a good reason," came the gruff reply.

 _See, I told you._ Ignoring his horse, Will continued on.

"Well what would that good reason be?"

"Lady Pauline." Will stood shocked as that was not what he had anticipated Halt to say.

"What does she have to do with anything?" he asked in bewilderment.

"Everything. She now knows the details of our mission and she is determined to help."

Will's mind once again raced. He knew they could trust Pauline. A courier was well practiced in handling items that contained the need for secrecy. But Halt had no right to tell her. He had sworn that he would keep this mission a secret. There was no use in letting the whole fief know. As if he could read his mind, Halt gave a sheepish reply.

"She had me cornered and demanded to know the true identity of this mission. You know how she is, I couldn't sneak out of this one with a lie." More gruffly, he continued. I swore her to secrecy on it. But, you know that she would be a benefit to this mission. She gave some excellent advice that I think we would be wise to take. Plus, she might prove to be an excellent distraction if we should need it. You know how deceptive couriers can be."

Nodding, Will agreed. "Okay. You're right. If we run into a snag we will send for her help. We do need this mission to go perfectly and a woman's view on it will definitely be a benefit for perfection."

A rare hint of smile formed on Halt's lips. Thinking of his wife, he couldn't agree more.


	2. The Set Up

Will surveyed the clearing around him. He had just placed the last of 24 small, unlit lanterns in the clearing. He would have preferred to use candles but common sense told him that it would be unwise to have two dozen small flames scattered along the edge of the dense forest. Even the lanterns would be pushing it, but Will figured that it should be okay, as long as no one came tromping through the forest, rather than using the path that lead into the clearing.

Along the edge of the clearing, Will had evenly spaced 16 of the lanterns. The other eight would be used to form a circle around a table big enough for two people to dine at. The table and chairs were made of a dark wood, supposedly the finest wood in the fief. When Will had found the wood, he had plans to make it into beautiful set that Alyss would adore, however, even though he had already cut the wood into the correct shaped pieces, he and Halt had spent the better part of the morning assembling them together and smoothing the wood out. The set looked rather nice at the moment, just not as nice as Will had originally thought. Hopefully it would be perfect enough for tonight and then he could add other details to finish it for their cabin.

"Well Will, I'm not sure how much smoother this table is going to get." Will looked at Halt who was rubbing his hand over the smooth wood. "I'm not sure this table set will fit in at your drab little cabin. It's too nice compared to the rest of the place."

Will shook his head at Halt. "Don't forget that it was once your cabin. You should have spruced it up when you first got there if you thought it was so drab."

"When I lived there, I didn't have someone important living there with me. There was no need to spruce it up."

"What about all the time I spent there as your apprentice? Didn't that qualify as having someone important there with you?"

"Nonsense. You were someone that I got to order around." Will opened his mouth to make a comeback when Halt continued on. "See Will, the difference between when I owned the cabin and when you owned it is this, there was only me and some young hooligan boy who rarely spent time inside. Hence there was nobody to impress. But you, you have a beautiful lady to share the cabin with, and in my experience, it is the women who prefer to have a nice, tidy home. Thus, it was not my responsibility to spruce it up, it was yours." To this, Will had no reply. He simply smiled and shook his head.

"You do have a point."

"Of course I do, otherwise I would not have said it."

"Right." By now, a wide smile had crept up on Halt's face. "Now let's get back to the task at hand before you find new ways for me to admit that I was wrong." Thinking quickly, Will evaluated what still needed to be done for tonight. "What did Lady Pauline say about the dinner plan?" Since Lady Pauline was now involved in this event, she insisted that Will share all of his plans with her so that she could decide if they were adequate enough for Alyss. Seeing the sense in it, Will agreed. After all, he wanted it to be perfect for Alyss. Halt had gone to talk to Pauline earlier this morning while Will had worked on preparations.

"She said that it was the worst plan ever. And she called you ridiculous for even thinking of it." Halt stated this with extra emphasis on 'worst plan' and 'ridiculous.'

"What is the matter with my cooking? Even you say that I can cook better than you."

"Rangers are usually good cooks. It's true. And I do say that you are better than me simply so that I do not have to do it. However, according to Pauline, if you want a perfect dinner, then you should not cook it."

Indignantly Will asked, "did she give any better ideas?"

"As a matter of fact, she did." Halt was enjoying seeing Will become defensive about his cooking and decided that he would see how long he could go before answering the question directly.

"Well, what was it?"

"She suggested two names. And she made me go talk to them before returning here."

"Who was it?" Will was nearly shouting now. Halt decided he had dragged it out long enough.

"Jenny and Master Chubb," he stated calmly.

As Will processed this information, a smile slowly spread across his face. Of course he should have thought about asking them. Master Chubb was Baron Arald's chef for Castle Redmont. He was one of the best chef's in the fief, if not the whole kingdom. Jenny was potentially even better than Chubb at the trade. Jenny was Will's and Alyss's wardmate when they were younger. She was apprenticed to Master Chubb for many years and had excelled so much. Chubb even tells everyone how amazing she is. Although he would never say that she is better than him out loud, the pride that shows in his eyes when he tastes her fine meals gives it away. She is just as good, if not better than him.

"Pauline is amazing." Will just nodded in wonder. "And you said that you already talked to both Jenny and Master Chubb?"

"Indeed, I did. And before you ask, they were both more than happy to create the best meal for you and your wonderful wife. Jenny said that they will have the meal here an hour before sundown and then you can bring Alyss here a half hour before sundown. That way you get the gorgeous sunset and then a beautiful candlelit dinner – those were Jenny's words, not mine."

"That would be amazing! I guess it really was a good idea to let Lady Pauline in on this mission." As Will spoke, he noticed that something did not feel right. It was as though someone was watching them. Without moving his head, he scanned the surrounding area. Nothing appeared to be amiss but being a ranger had taught Will that things are never as they seem. Casually Will stood up, turning to the side as he did so that he could scan the area further. "Well Halt, since I am no longer cooking dinner I now have some extra free time. Why don't we head down to Henry's tavern and get a cup of coffee?"

"That is quite possibly the best thing you have said all day." Halt stood and stretched. "Let's go."

"Perfect," replied Will. Then in a barely audible voice, "I sensed someone nearby watching us but they are well concealed. Keep an eye out for them."

Nodding, Halt muttered back. "Got it." Then in a louder voice, "let's just hope Henry hasn't run out of his coffee beans again. That would be catastrophic."

"Yes, yes it would," agreed Will.


	3. Old Man Henry

Old Man Henry owned a tavern on the outskirts of the village. When looking at Old Man Henry, you wouldn't understand why everyone called him that. Henry was in fact, quite young. Barely in his thirties, married with two young kids, Henry had recently inherited the tavern from his father, the original Old Man Henry. Henry Senior was determined to continue serving his customers until the day he died. In the recent months, it had become harder for him to move around the tavern, so Henry Junior convinced his father to allow him to manage the tavern. Henry Senior agreed on the condition that nobody try to stop him when he wanted to come help the customers. As it is, Henry Junior took over. His father rarely comes by anymore, and the villagers have long since passed on his nickname to his son.

Despite the tavern being on the outskirts, many villagers make the effort to go there. They claim that Henry has the best coffee in the whole fief. Many have tried to find out his secret, but Henry keeps his secrets well. In truth, he owes his success to the rangers. They were the ones who introduced his to the merchant from Arrida, the islands where coffee (called kafay there) originated. The merchant originally taught Henry how to make the rich coffee that the Arridi commonly make. He also regularly restocks Henry's supply of beans whenever he comes to port.

On his most recent trip to port, Henry brought his two kids, a boy (age 8) and a girl (age 6), to give his wife a break from the shenanigans that the children were always up too. They watched several ships pull into the harbor, including the Arridi ship, yet they failed to notice the black ship that had arrived. Consumed in his transaction with the Arridi merchant, they did not notice the stranger in dark clothes watching them from behind a market stall. As he tried to keep track of both kids on their journey home, he did not realize that the stranger had begun to follow them, trailing behind just far enough that they would not immediately recognize that they were being followed. In fact, it was not until later that night, when Henry was cleaning up after the tavern had closed, that he met the stranger.

While in the backroom, Henry heard the front door open. Curious as to who might be coming after closing, Henry walked to the front where he found himself facing the stranger. The stranger wore a long black coat, that looked to be made of leather. He appeared to be older than Henry, maybe in his early forties. He had enough of a scruff to indicate that he hadn't shaved in a week or two. But what really stood out to Henry was the way this stranger kept his hand on the sword at his waist. This was a master swordsman, who was prepared for a fight.

"Sorry sir, the tavern is closed for tonight. Come back in the morning," Henry told the stranger.

"I'm not here for a drink" the stranger responded, with a deep voice.

"Well then I am still going to have to ask you to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere until you do what I say."

Indignantly, Henry replied, "Now hold on a second, you can't come in here and try to tell me what to do. This is my tavern and nobody will be telling me what to…," Henry stopped as the stranger had moved quickly up to him, with his sword drawn and held up to Henry's throat.

"You are going to do what I say. Otherwise, the wife and kids you have sleeping in the cottage out back are going to pay. Do you understand?" Henry's eyes were wide open and he trembled slightly at the thought of his family being hurt because of him. He nodded ever so slightly, aware of the sword edge resting on his skin. "Good, now listen closely. You will not share a word of this with anyone. Not until after the deed is long since done." The stranger proceeded to instruct Henry on what he needed to do. He handed a small bag to Henry.

"The next time they enter this tavern, you better take care of this, otherwise your son will pay for it first. If you fail again, your daughter. And then your wife. Don't try to trick me. I will know everything that goes on here. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," came the whispered response. With those words, the stranger sheathed his sword and strode out the front door. Henry collapsed in the nearest chair, overcome with fright. "What am I going to do. I need to somehow warn those men to not come here again, but the stranger will know if I try such a thing…I will have to hope that they do not come by for a while…"

Little did he know; those men would be coming in the afternoon.


	4. Suspicions

Will and Halt walked down the dirt road towards Old Man Henry's Tavern. Since the tavern was less than ten minutes away, the two Rangers decided to leave their horses back in the clearing where they would have plenty of grass to feed on. They didn't need to worry about their horses being stolen, because they were Ranger horses and didn't allow anyone to ride them unless that person has told them the password. If someone tried to mount without saying the password, the horse would buck that person off as soon as they sat down on the saddle. That was one of the many things that made a Ranger horse amazing.

Even though they didn't have their horses, the Rangers still had their weapons with them. They had their unique double scabbard which contained a saxe knife and a throwing knife, their strikers, and the ever-present long bow with two dozen arrows. Currently their bows were unstrung to protect the bow. But that wasn't a problem for Rangers because their training allowed them to quickly string the bow. Rangers were famous most for their skill and accuracy with a bow. Few would dare cross a ranger, even fewer would cross them when that ranger had his long bow within his reach. In addition to the weapons, the rangers had their mottled green and grey cloaks. These were especially helpful when trying to blend in with the environment.

As the Rangers walked down the road, they made casual conversation to cover up the fact that they were on high alert for anyone trying to follow them. While they did not pick up any noises indicating that someone was following them, or see anyone in their peripheral vision, Will still felt strongly that someone was indeed there.

They approached the tavern's front door.

"Anything?" Will muttered to Halt as he opened the door for the old ranger.

"Nothing. Although I sense the eyes just as much as you do." Halt replied as he strolled through the open door.

They walked through the tavern to counter near the back of the room. There were less than a dozen men seated in various spots near the counter. These were mostly the regulars who stayed here every moment they could, or always came here for their midday meal and drink. Many of them nodded to the Rangers but said little else. Rangers were not popular with most of the citizens of the kingdom. Many of them looked towards the Rangers with suspicion and fear. Or they avoided looking at Rangers completely if at all possible. This was mainly because the Rangers needed to keep to themselves to do their job properly. And their uncanny skills at moving completely silently somewhere often put people on edge. Therefore, the Rangers were used to the reactions of the people. The people in this fief were at least a little friendlier and willing to give a nod, but only because the stories of what Halt and Will have done for the kingdom in the past years has spread throughout the kingdom and earned them much respect.

As Halt waited at the counter for Henry to come out of the back room, Will spent the time scanning the tavern until he was satisfied that everything here seemed ok. This was standard habit for a ranger when first arriving somewhere.

Henry came out of the backroom. "How can I help…" he trailed off as he recognized the identities of the two men at his counter. "Oh…it's, it's the Rangers…" he stuttered. He appeared flustered as he walked up to the counter. "What do I…, what would you…, what can I get for you?" he stammered.

Halt noticed this behavior but said nothing of it. "Well Henry, we have been busy all morning with important stuff, and we have worked up quite an appetite for your finest cup of coffee. Can you get us each a nice hot cup?"

"Y… Yes sir." Henry stumbled off to the backroom.

Halt turned to Will. "Something's off with Henry. He seems a bit jittery today. What do you think is going on?"

"Hmm?" replied Will who had been lost in his thoughts. This was rare for a Ranger, for they were always attentive. But Will was worried about making the day perfect for Alyss. "I'm sure there is an explanation. Maybe he is tired today. He is always working himself too hard."

"Maybe so…" Halt muttered. At that moment, Henry returned from the backroom with two steaming cups of coffee. He placed them in front of the two rangers.

"Here you go" he stammered. Then he hurried off to the back room. Halt watched him go as he picked up his cup.

"I think we need to have a talk with Henry before we go. He isn't acting tired. He is worried about something."

"You're probably right. As much as I hate to say it, protecting the kingdom comes before surprising Alyss." Will took a sip of his coffee. In an even lower voice he asked, "have you noticed anything about our follower yet?"

"No. Either they made it in here before us, or they are waiting for us to come back outside." Halt took a drink of his coffee. "We should take the back exit to throw him off. Then we can sneak around and find a place to watch the front door. If we were indeed being followed, that person will get impatient eventually and just go in."

"You're right. We should get going as soon as possible." Will finished his coffee and stood up. "Now that we need to question Henry and watch for our unwanted follower, we may be pressed for time to finish setting up the…" Will trailed off.

Halt, who had already stood up, turned to look at Will when he trailed off and failed to continue, only to see Will collapse to the ground.

"Will!" He exclaimed. Halt started to move towards the fallen Ranger when his vision swam. He felt himself collapse to the floor. Darkness gathered in his vision. He vaguely noticed other people starting to gather around, as well as a bang, possibly from the door being thrown open? But that was as far as he got before the darkness overtook him.


	5. Captured

He was sure he heard something. His head hurt and it was hard to tell for sure. He was also sure that the floor was moving underneath him. Keeping his breathing slow and even, he pretended to be asleep in case someone was nearby. They wouldn't realize their mistake until it was too late. As his senses returned, he realized that something coarse was around his wrists. Ropes. He was tied up. On what felt like a ship. But how did he get here? He searched his memory for how he could have possibly gotten here. He remembered being at the tavern. And Old Man Henry was acting weird. They had their coffee, decided to confront Henry and find the source of the prying eyes that was surely watching them before going back to the clearing. He stood to follow Halt, then, there was only darkness. So, what had happened? They could have been attacked, but if that was the case then he shouldn't be tied up because no man can take on two Rangers at once. Halt would have stopped the attacker right after they choose to attack Will. No, something much more devious was going on. And if Will was taken and tied up, then Halt must have been taken too, or at least be somewhere nearby, because he would never abandon Will.

Slowly, Will began to open his eyes slightly. It was fairly dark in their prison. The gentle sway of the floor beneath him suggested that he was on a ship, probably in the storage space below deck. Glancing around, Will saw someone laying a short distance away, also tied up. It had to be Halt. Listening closely, Will could only perceive one other person breathing down here. He opened his eyes more and attempted to sit up. He had to see if Halt was okay and then they could figure out a way out of this predicament. Sitting up was quite the feat considering that his arms were tied behind his back and that his ankles were also tied together. Once up, his vision began to darken and spin. Will waited until his vision returned to normal before inching over to the still figure beside him.

"Halt…" he whispered. Will did his best to nudge the unconscious man with his shoulder. "Halt, get up, we need to get out of here." He wished he had water to splash on the man, that would surely wake up this great sleeping bear they called Halt. Whoever had captured them hadn't left a guard to watch over them, but that just meant that it was more likely for someone to come check on them at any moment. They needed to get a move on. "Halt, you need to get up or I swear I will tell Lady Pauline that you decided to snooze on the job and got us both captured."

"She wouldn't believe you if you told her," came the murmured reply.

"Fine, I will tell her that you threw another diplomat in their own moat, which consequently, got us surrounded by the entire guard, which is too much for two men to handle, even if they are Rangers, so you surrendered. Then we were officially arrested and shipped off to the other side of the world."

"She would be more inclined to believe that." Halt grumbled as he struggled to sit up. "What do you reckon happened to us?"

Will describe what he had already remembered when he first woke up. Halt slowly nodded his head in agreement until the part where Will guessed that they must have been attacked. Here, Halt described how he turned to see why Will wasn't responding to his question and watched as Will crumpled to the ground. No one was around to have knocked him out, so either something was thrown or it was a type of drug.

"Drugged!" Will quietly exclaimed. Suddenly the pieces were fitting together. "That's why Old Man Henry was acting so weird. He must have put something in our coffee. It must have been tasteless as well as scentless, although I can't say that I have heard of anything like that growing even close to Redmont."

"I agree, although this sounds more like the work of the Genovesans. Thus, someone probably wants us dead, but by their own hands. The Genovesans are simply the delivery boys being paid handsomely to do the job." Halt pulled at his bonds trying to ease the tension in his shoulders. "Enough talking for now, let's see what we can do about getting out of here before our muscles get any stiffer. Get behind me and I will see if I can get the knots around your hands undone."

Will obediently maneuvered behind him so they sat back to back. Halt tried for several minutes to undo the knots. Failing to do so, Will took a turn on Halt's bonds. Here, Will was able to succeed and the ropes fell loosely around Halt's hands. Quickly, Halt untied his own legs, then once again set about loosening Will's. The knots around his legs fell away easily, but those around his wrists still refused to give.

"We'll need something to cut through these ropes on your wrists. Let me look for something to use." Halt stood and thought sourly about his missing gear. It made sense for their captors to take their double scabbards, longbows, and quivers, but why did they also have to take their cloaks. He felt vulnerable without it sitting comfortably on his shoulders, masking his movements in the enemy territory. Maybe the men were dumb enough to leave the gear laying around down here. Halt sighed; one could only hope for such a stroke of luck. He began to cross the area. By now, his eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he could make out most of the shapes in the area.

There were several crates near the back of area, under what appeared to be a set of stairs leading up to the deck. Silently, he moved to the crates. The first one opened easily enough. Inside there were dried rations. "At least we won't starve" he thought as he grabbed up two pieces of dried meat and shoved them in the pocket of his vest. He continued to search the crates for anything useful. He had noticed that Will had gotten to his feet and was silently searching for anything they could use to cut his bonds. "Atta boy," Halt thought as he allowed a small smile to appear. He knew Will was the best Ranger in the corps. Many refused to admit it, but even Halt knew that Will was far better than himself. If only Will could see that, maybe then he wouldn't be so hard on himself. It wasn't mentioned yet, but it was only a matter of time before he realized the full impact of the situation. They were not going to be home in time to surprise Alyss. The young Ranger would be devastated when he had the time to be. He had been planning this day for months and now they were trapped on a ship, most likely a long way from home. He knew they had to be getting far from home because the rolling of the waves under the ship and the queasy stomach had yet to cease since they had awoken. That wasn't even considering how long they had been unconscious.

As the thought of the rolling waves, his stomach began to flop. Halt knew that he had to focus on the task at hand or very soon, he would be unable to function due to his treacherous stomach. As long as he had something to focus on, the queasiness would be held at bay. He began to search the crates once more. He found many provisions, mainly food and some supplies, as well as fresh water. The ship was stocked for a long voyage with many crew members. Hopefully, they hadn't made it out to sea yet, otherwise there would be little hope of escape for the Rangers. It was under the last few bottom stairs, that Halt found their gear. Obviously, their captors thought that the Rangers wouldn't look in the small cavity behind the crates and under the stairs, which was extremely difficult to access. Quickly, Halt put his gear on, letting a small sigh of relief escape as the cloak wrapped around him once more. He gathered up Will's gear so that he could take it across to Will and cut his bonds.

Instinct told him to stay put. He noticed Will had frozen on the other side of the area. He then realized what had triggered the instinct. Keys had rattled in the door above him. Slowly he melted into the shadows behind the crates, carefully placing Will's stuff in the corner. Once that door opened and the person came down the stairs, they would notice the absence of the two tied up men that they had left in the center of the floor. The alarm would be called and the desperate search for them would begin. Any chance at escaping would be gone before they could even try to formulate a plan. The man was sure to find Will first, seeing how Will was searching near the place where they had been tied up. Without his mottled cloak, it would be harder for Will to blend into the shadows. And if Will was found, he wouldn't even be able to fight back properly due to his hands tied behind his back. Rangers were skilled, but even Rangers have their limits. Halt swallowed dryly as he worried about his former apprentice. He would have to do something, and do it quickly.

With a creek, the door pulled open. The giddy sounds of men who have had too much to drink after a long day came through the doorway. Little light came through, indicating that it was night, with a full moon providing the light for the men on deck. With a thump, boots began descending the stairs.

* * *

 **A note to my readers: Thanks for sticking with this story! Sorry it's been so long since my last update! Life has been crazy busy that I could only write pieces at a time. Now that summer is here I hope to write several chapters and release them throughout the school year. I'm excited to see how the next part to comes together. While I have a general idea of where the story is going, I would love to hear you ideas of things that can happen on the journey. Let me know what you want to see in the story and I will do my best to incorporate your ideas into the story. Thanks everyone!**


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